Tagged: Star Wars

Since I’m bed-ridden for the time being, I thought I’d use this opportunity to catch up on some articles I’ve been meaning to share with you, dear readers. Â (If it’s not obvious already, I’m a really bad patient when I’m sick. Â I don’t whine or complain or annoy my caretakers; I just have a hard time sitting still and resting for an extended period of time. Â After a few hours I’m ready to get up and organize something, or do some laundry, or anything. Â I know … I need to work on this.) Â I’m going through these in roughly chronological order, so you might have seen some from this first batch, as they are the oldest. Â Whatever the case, here we go …

I had a rather unpleasant and unfortunately typical biking on Madison the other day. Â It was Monday afternoon, around 5:30, and I was heading home from buying the wrong lightbulbs at Home Depot. Â (No, I did not mean to buy the wrong ones.) Â I was heading east and had just crossed McLean. Â I’m sure you’ve noticed how tight Madison gets right there: parked cars to the right, narrow traffic lanes, little room to bail if something happens. Â In hindsight I should have more assertive as I entered that stretch and taken the lane, but for whatever reason, I didn’t.

The first few cars to pass me did so fully in the left lane. Â But then an elderly woman driving a Mazda decided to “share the lane” with me, without asking me first of course. Â I figure her right-hand-side mirror came within about 18 inches of my handlebars. Â It was at that point that I began to yell profanities and make certain hand gestures.

I’ve had a conversation or two about this. Â I don’t think I suffer from road rage, at least not when I’m driving my car, but when people come that close to me on my bike, it does touch a nerve. I have made a concerted effort to be less hostile to inconsiderate drivers of late, and more thankful of those that do obey the rules. Â So it was with great interest and a feeling of community that I read this article. Â I really like the author’s principles of peaceful biking. Â As soon as I get back to being a normal human being, I’m going to give them a try.

And speaking of being mindful and calm about the numerous offenses and infractions we cyclists must suffer at the hands of idiot drivers … oh wait, never mind.

Sometimes the planets align in interesting ways and I manage to find not one, not two, but three Star Wars-related custom bike (or bike accessory) articles in one week. Â “The Empire Strikes Bike” … how awesome is that? Â (h/t to Kyle)